The Thing About Memories
by FaitheFenyx
Summary: An innocent game of Truth or Dare during one of the Guardian meetings at the North Pole turn into something more when an awkward topic comes up: Jack's death. Or rather, why he is afraid of water.
1. Chapter 1

"Say it! Say it!"

"Look, mate, for the last time, I am NOT saying it! Christmas is NOT better than Easter!"

"Bunny, you chose Dare, and you already refused the first one. Now you have to say that Christmas is better than Easter!" Tooth's violet eyes were gently amused at Bunny. "You _were_ the first one to agree to this when Jack suggested it."

"I refuse!" Bunny's eyes were narrowed into slits. "I'd rather take the punishment!"

"You don't even know what it is," Jack pointed out, grinning at the ridiculously outraged expression on the Pooka's face. "But," He smirked, "If you say so!"

Flipping from his spot on a ceiling beam, Jack pointed his staff at Bunny, freezing his feet to the floor. "_FROST-_"Bunny bellowed, lunging at the winter spirit, only to fall flat on his face. Jack easily avoided his grasp, laughing merrily as Sandy took a picture of the Easter spirit's comical pose. "Good one, Sandy!"

The dream weaver floated up to Jack and gave him a thumbs-up, smiling. The wind rider glided down to sit cross-legged on the floor when North called, "Jack! Is your turn!".

"All right then. I choose…Truth!" Jack said, looking expectantly at Bunny. The Pooka smirked a little, thinking. "Okay…what are you afraid of?" he asked. "And don't say Pitch," he added as an afterthought.

Jack winced slightly, sighing. "Well, I'm sort of afraid of water," he confessed. "It's irrational, since I know I can't drown, but I had this really bad experience with water when I was a human, and now I really don't like water, and-"

"Jack, you're rambling." Tooth said gently. Sandy nodded.

"Yeah, sorry." He was about to go on, but Bunny interrupted him. "You're afraid of _water_!?" he asked incredulously. "You bloody _freeze_ water if you touch it, that's just stupid."

"I did say it was irrational." Jack shot an annoyed glance at Bunny. "And anyways, if you had to experience what I went through, you would be afraid of drowning too."

"What sort of-" Tooth started to say, but was cut off. "What, did your parents throw you in the lake because you were too annoying to keep?" Bunny said nastily, still resentful about the prank. Jack stiffened and turned to him, scowling. The wind, picking up on his negative emotions, howled around North's workshop, startling yetis and rattling toys. "Shut up." The angry winter spirit hissed. He seemed about to say more, but North beat him to it. "Bunny, that was uncalled for. Jack has bad experience with water, you do not tease."

"No, no, it's alright." Jack paused. "Maybe if I just showed you…" He pulled a golden canister out of his pocket- his memories. "But before you go, I will be warning you that the things you will see- namely, the reason I'm afraid of water, among other things- are extremely emotionally traumatizing. Tooth, you are not allowed to hug me to death." He sighed, willing the wind to stop howling, then handed the canister over to Tooth. She took it, and once the Guardians were situated around her form, ran her hand along the top. Their visions dissolved into diamonds.


	2. Chapter 2

When their visions cleared, the Guardians saw they were in a forest with a group of kids. A very _familiar _forest, right outside of a town called Burgess. Bunny was the first to notice the Easter basket in one of the kid's hands. "Hey, look! It's Easter!"

Tooth's wide eyes landed on the person with an Easter basket. "Awwww, look how cute Jack was as a human!" She flitted closer for a better look, then gasped. "Look at his TEETH! They're so WHITE!"

"Toothie, focus," North said wearily. "Jack send us here to better understand his life. We do not obsess over teeth."

"How is that even Jack?" Bunny wondered aloud. "This anklebiter has brown hair and eyes. Frost has white hair and blue eyes." Behind him, Sandy formed a question mark.

"Spirits tend to change their appearances when they become a spirit," Tooth said distractedly. "Like you, Bunny. You changed from a little fluffer-puff of a pooka-bunny into a 6-foot-tall bunny-man. Now be quiet, his mom is saying something."

The Easter spirit spluttered, indignant about his description, as Sandy shook in silent laughter. Then both spirits focused on the memory.

"_Jack, you can't have fun all the time," his mother was saying._

"_Sure I can," Jack said, hopping around impatiently. "Like, if I lived for a million years, I bet I would find some way to amuse myself." His mom just shook her head amusedly as her son ran off with his sister to look for Easter eggs._

"Jack had a SISTER! She's so CUTE!" shrieked Tooth. Bunny rubbed his sensitive ears, sighing. "We get it, sheila. Now let us watch the memories."

_The scene dissolves and reforms, showing Jack hanging from a tree branch upside-down, grinning. The 3 town children from before were jumping up and down, giggling, as Jack's sister called, "Get down from there, Jack!" _

_Her brother laughed. "What, Emma, are you afraid that I'll fall and leave you all alone?" he teased, smiling. Emma scowled, saying, "That's not funny! You're so mean!", but her wobbly voice betrayed her fear._

_Jack shimmied down the tree, scooping her up with practiced ease. "I'm never going to leave you, okay? Never, never, never." He poked Emma in the belly for each "never". She started giggling. "Now, let's go look for some eggs before all the other kids take 'em," he said mischievously. "Maybe we can even find the Easter Bunny!"_

North smiled at the two, thoughtful. "This is why our Jack is good with children," he said. "He had little sister to look after."

Tooth sighed. "You know that something bad will probably happen to her, though." She reminded the other Guardians. "Once you get chosen to be a spirit, you're not allowed to have any human connections. Either that, or she will forget she ever had a brother, once he gets chosen."

_Time in the memories seemed to speed up. Instead of afternoon, it now seemed to be evening, and the shadows of trees were already stretching across the ground. Instead of a happy family eating dinner, however, Jack and the other children were backing away from unnatural and creepy shadows that seemed to claw at them. Jack was holding a large rock in his fist, preparing to throw it if anything emerged._

_Suddenly a smooth and seductive voice the Guardians knew all too well filled the clearing. "Well, well. What have we here? Four little children, lost in the woods. This should be…_interesting_." Jack tightened his grip on the rock until his knuckles whitened, and his eyes darted from shadow to shadow. He jerked, instinctually protecting the littler children's bodies with his own, when Pitch Black materialized from seemingly nowhere, leering. _

Tooth was livid, her face red with fury. "HOW DARE HE!" she practically screeched. "ATTACKING INNOCENT CHILDREN ON EASTER! WHY-" North covered her mouth with a large hand, although he was angry as well. "We must watch memories, after we will go after Pitch."

"_Who're you?" Jack's voice quivered slightly, but he didn't back down. Pitch sneered. "Foolish boy, I am the Boogiema-" He was cut off when Jack threw the rock with perfect aim, hitting him in the stomach and eliciting an 'oof' from the sinister figure. "Well, Boogerman, I'm not afraid of you," he taunted, gaining confidence as Emma giggled at the insult. "You're about as scary as a half-drowned kitten!"_

_Suddenly, a giant hole opened up, and out popped… a giant rabbit? Jack confusedly watched as the bunny-man whirled on the Boogieman, scowling._

"_YOU! Disrupting my egg tunnels and almost ruining my holiday! Why don't you go away and slink back into your hidey-hole, where you belong?!" the Easter Bunny, as Jack now realized, shouted. "Why're you even-oh," he said, finally noticing the children behind him. "So, ruining Easter and terrorizing innocent kids, all in one day. Why, I oughta-"_

"_Jack, I'm scared," Emma whispered fearfully. As her brother turned to her with a crooked smile laced with determination, he said, "Don't be scared. We're going to have a little fun instead."_

"Hang on a second…" Bunny muttered, staring fixedly at the scene. "That was _Jack_?!" The other Guardians looked, questioning, at the Easter Guardian, but he didn't elaborate.

_As the Easter Bunny, who was a LOT bigger than Jack would have thought, yelled at the shadow-man, Jack marched up to stand next to the giant Pooka. Feeling a tug on his bandolier, Bunny looked down, surprised, in time to see a 10-year-old boy throw a bright pink egg grenade at the dark spirit. The egg exploded on impact, covering the Boogieman with pink dust. _

Sandy was practically rolling in the air, he was laughing so hard. Tooth was the same way, only her uncontrollable giggles were audible. North's Jolly face was on, complete with thunderous, booming laughter and bright red cheeks that displayed his mirth. Even Bunny was laughing.

"Why… why didn't you… say something?" Tooth gasped between laughter.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," said Bunny, smirking. "I can't believe I forgot until now…"

North, laughing, said, "We will not be needing to punish Pitch anymore, after this."

"_Your scariness has just decreased a good 10 points." Jack pointed out with a straight face. "In fact, I am afraid that a half-drowned kitten could beat you easily, Boogerman." He then turned to Emma. "See? He's not scary at all."_

_The Boogieman, his hot pink coloration made even funnier by the stupidly shocked expression on his face, scowled and melted back into the shadows. Jack turned back to the children. "Mary? Tom? Emma? You alright?" They nodded. Satisfied, he turned to Bunny. "You know, I would have thought that the Easter Bunny would look less like a kangaroo and more like a rabbit," he commented casually. "Thanks for the grenade, by the way."_

"Jack calling you Kangaroo even before he was made into spirit." North said, half-laughing. Bunny just sighed resignedly.

"_Look, mate, I am NOT a-" The Easter Bunny slapped a paw to his forehead and sighed tiredly. "Just- just go that way," he said, pointing in a seemingly random direction. "Here ya go." Handing the kids four Easter baskets filled with eggs, he called over his shoulder, "Next time, don't get lost in the woods!" The Pooka formed a tunnel and disappeared into it. The opening closed, leaving a yellow tulip behind._

_Jack and the others stared at it, processing the events that had just happened. Finally, Jack broke the spell by clapping his hands together. "So! If the bunny-man says we go that way, we go that way!" He scoops up a fallen branch and strikes a heroic pose. "The valiant hero-knights of the forest, on their way home with their chocolate treasure! Defeating evil pink villains! Gaining wise advice from giant mutant kangaroo rabbits! And, with the famed Lady Knight Emma, the courageous Archer Mary, and the mystical Mage Tom in our midst, nothing will defeat us!" The prankster offered an exaggerated bow to the giggling youngsters. "Prince Jack, the Brave and the Bold, will lead this perilous journey back to our homes, where cheering crowds await our return!" He marched in the direction Bunny pointed at, three giggling and whooping children following him._

Bunny regarded the memory with a faint smile, marveling at how good Jack was with children. North smiled at the scene too, still amused about a hot pink Pitch.

"Now that we've seen that, I do NOT want to see the results of any prank that he's actually planned," Tooth said, still giggling. "That would be disastrous!" Sandy nodded emphatically, forming an explosion out of sand over his head.

The Guardians eagerly awaited the next memory, already anticipating the hilarity that would ensue if they got to witness one of Jack's pranks.

**A/N: I am not good at endings, so sorry about the awkward conclusion. Anyways, how did you like it? Good? Bad? Tell me in your reviews! ~Faithe**

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Whoo! Yeaaah! New chappie! **

_The Guardian's visions cleared to reveal that Jack and the kids were still in the same forest, on their way home. They were marching in single file line, with Jack at the front. Suddenly, Jack whispered loudly, "Troll!" As one, they all dived behind a large rock and peered over the top of it, staring at a large, gnarled, tree right in front of them. Jack ducked back down, crouching in front of the children. "Okay, here's the plan. Emma and I will circle around it and launch a frontal attack, while Mary distracts it with arrows. Tommy, you sneak up on it from behind and kill it with a fireball," he whispered, drawing in the dirt with a stick. "and then we'll get the treasure. Got it?" Cue nods all around. "All right. Everyone, to your positions!" Everybody obeyed, stifling giggles. _

Tooth tilted her head, puzzled. "What do you think they're doing?" she asked. North shook his head, honestly disappointed. "Is not obvious? They are making…. Battle plan!" Tooth shot him a cross look, and Bunny intervened. "That's all very well and good, mate, but what are they bloody fighting against?" Sandy brightened and waved a flag around, flashing a picture of what looked like a troll above his head. They ignored him, as usual, and Sandy pouted and crossed his arms, huffing.

_Jack and Emma immediately burst out from behind the rock and rushed towards the tree, screaming battle cries. As they whacked the tree with sticks, Mary gathered up small stones and climbed other trees, pelting the "troll" with "arrows" and striking with deadly accuracy._

Tooth "aaaawed" and even Bunny couldn't suppress a grin. North was roaring with laughter, bellowing out comments like "Kill it!" and "Go Jack!" and "That was a good one!" Sandy was clapping and silently cheering, conjuring a dreamsand scoreboard over his head and marking points every time someone hit the tree-troll. As expected, it was a pretty one-sided fight.

_Finally, Tommy appeared, carrying a large rock with both hands. As Jack and Emma scattered, he heaved it at the tree with all his might. The "fireball" hit the trunk with a dull "thunk", shaking a few leaves off of the branches. The group exploded into cheers, whooping and hollering, as Jack scaled the trunk to grab something nestled on a branch._

It was then that the Guardians noticed the items hidden on the branch. The reason why Jack and the others attacked a seemingly innocent tree was because it had treasure (of a sort) hidden in its branches.

_As Jack dropped down from the tree, Tommy, Mary, and Emma swarmed him, grabbing for the chocolate treasure he cradled in his hands. He jumped back, laughing, and said, "All spoils must be divided between the group, since we all defeated the troll together, so get your baskets and we'll divide it up!" The children scrambled to obey, nearly tripping over themselves to get their baskets. When everyone was arranged and ready, Jack ceremoniously dropped an egg into each basket, until there was only one left._

"_I should have it, 'cause I killed it," Tommy boasted. _

"_That's not fair! I worked just as hard as you! You just said that because you're a boy!" Mary pointed a condemning finger at the offending boy, accusing. "I should get it!"_

_As an argument broke out over who would get the last egg, and Jack leaped in to stop it. 'Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, how 'bout we just share it instead?" He took out a small knife from his boot, cutting the egg into fours and giving one piece to each of them. "See? Problem solved." As the kids finished gobbling up the chocolate goodies, Jack stood up and stretched. "Now, if I remember the way back home correctly, we still have a while to go before we get back home. We'd better hurry up before it gets too dark." He noticed the scared and anxious looks on their faces, and chuckled. "And if we don't make it home before dark, there's nothing to worry about- except, of course, being completely blinded by ugly, hot pink boogermen!" Cackling, he led a whole troupe of practically hysterical children back to their warm and cozy homes._

Sandy smiled, forming an image of what was obviously Emma, a snowflake, and a heart. North nodded, saying, "He loves sister very much." Bunny agreed, watching Jack prance around, making goofy faces to make his sister laugh. Tooth giggled. "And his description of a hot pink Pitch Black was solely for her amusement." At this reminder, the Guardians started laughing hysterically, recalling the look on the nightmare spirit's face as he was suddenly covered in pink.

_The scene changed again, this time to a fire with many eager faces around it, all pointed towards a very familiar boy on a wooden platform who was telling a very funny story- the tale of the Pink Boogerman and the Giant Mutant Kangaroo Rabbit. This was obviously days from the previous memory._

"…_and then, with deadly accuracy, Prince Jack took the proffered magical Easter egg and threw it at the evil Boogerman- covering him in bright magenta!" the prankster said dramatically, miming throwing something. _

"_The villain paused, shocked that a mere boy had outsmarted him," Tommy jumped in, adapting a stupid, shocked look._

"_Then, defeated, he melted back into the shadows, never to be seen again!" Emma cried, quickly "disappearing" by subtly tossing something into the fire; the fire flared up with smoke and flames, giving Jack and the other actors time to hurriedly vanish backstage. Mary's voice echoed in the empty space left behind: "But that was not the end of their adventures. As the Easter Kangaroo gave the foursome their chocolaty reward for ridding the world of the Boogerman, he pointed to a pathway that would lead the lost heroes home, saying, "Go this way to leave the Enchanted Forest, but beware- many trials still lay ahead of you!"_

"_So the heroes went on their way, defeating trolls," At this they jumped out, pretending to fight a giant, invisible being, "slaying dragons," They ducked and rolled, stabbing and dodging invisible fireballs, "and gaining treasure!" Jack went backstage (which was really just behind the stage) and brought out a basket full of Easter eggs, holding it up victoriously. "Soon they arrived home to cheering crowds and parades, and lived happily ever after!"_

Bunny smiled at the scene, his resentment at Jack finally forgotten. Tooth cooed, marveling at how happy Jack and the children seemed to be. Sandy beamed, proud of their newest Guardian. North laughed a deep belly laugh, eyes merry as Jack reenacted the scene with Pitch. They all were impressed at how good Jack was with children.

_All the performers lined up and bowed to the crowds of cheering children and straightened up. Jack said, in a loud announcer's voice, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, may we present… The Magic Moose!" He then proceeded to perform a play about a magic moose, smiling broadly as the young audience clapped and cheered. Holding antlers to his head, he danced around, making Emma jump and clap in delight._

Tooth giggled at the spectacle Jack was making of himself, dancing and goofing off. She was so going to tease Jack about this later!

_As the play ended, Jack and the others made a mini-speech: "Thank you for watching! These plays are sponsored by the Overland family! Talk to Mary Burgess if you want to sign up to act in one of our plays." Mary waved, then said, "If you want to support our shows, donate money or supplies for costumes and props." Emma held up a donation box. Finally, Tommy said, "Thank you! We hope you enjoyed the show!"_

_Once they stopped talking, everybody swarmed the stage, dropping small coins in the donation box and signing up with Mary. Jack grinned at the chaos, but it finally settled down once everybody finished and either went home or stayed to talk to friends. A little girl tugged at Jack's vest, and he looked down. "Was the first play real?" Big, worried eyes displayed her anxiety. "I think I'm afraid of the Boogieman."_

_Jack reached down and grasped her shoulders. "He's real, and I have the eggshells to prove it, but you shouldn't be afraid of him. We drove him away forever." He smiled kindly. "You have nothing to be afraid of." The girl smiled in relief, and with a chirped, "Thanks!" she darted away. Jack straightened up, smiling, and spotted an elderly man making his way toward him. "Oh, hey, Johnson." The man smiled and said, "Thanks for watching the children during the meeting. They can be quite a handful!" Jack laughed easily. "No problem. Do you want to donate?" he asked, gesturing towards the donation box. "It's for entertaining the kiddos while you adults are having a meeting." Brown eyes twinkled at the older man. Johnson chuckled. "Alright then..." Making his way up to the stage, he dropped some money into the box. Mary's eyes just about popped out of her head. "Thanks mister!" she chirped. Jack grinned infectiously as Johnson made his way back home. He waved, and the scene dissolved._

**A/N: So… Sorry about delay in updating. Also, HOLY CRAP THERE ARE 29 REVIEWS. AND 37 FAVS. HOLY CRAP.**

**Because of the unbelievable amount of reviews, I will not respond to all of them. But I read all of them, so don't think that I don't care about y'all.**

**COOKIES FOR EVERY FAV**

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I was on vacation and my muse shut down. I am out of memory ideas. D: **

_Emma was shown running excitedly to her brother, cradling something carefully in her hands. "Jack, Jack, look! I lost a tooth!" She proudly displayed said tooth, holding it up for him to see. Jack laughed, kneeling down to inspect it. "Did you know," he asked, examining the tooth, "that if you put this under your pillow, you get money from the Tooth Fairy?" At Emma's inquiring look, he explained, "The Tooth Fairy is a fairy that comes when you're asleep and takes your tooth. She leaves a quarter under your pillow if you cleaned your teeth really good." Emma jumped up and down excitedly. "You get a whole quarter?! That's so cool! Let's put it under my pillow right now!" Jack grinned, picking her up and swinging his little sister around for a piggyback ride as she shrieked with laughter._

North quickly clapped a hand over Tooth's mouth. "Yes, yes, her teeth are white, we get it." He hurriedly said, wishing to prevent a squealing Tooth Fairy on continuing. "We want to watch memories."

_Once inside the house, however, Emma paused. "What does the Tooth Fairy look like, though?" she asked. "How big is she?"_

_Jack stilled, tilting his head. "To be honest, I don't know," he admitted. "But, we can find out!" The prankster tapped his chin, thinking. "All we need is some string!" Jack grinned mischievously. "Come on!"_

Tooth sighed, amused. "No one has ever seen one of my fairies," She said. "I doubt Jack will manage!" Bunny snorted, thoughtful. "Oh, I dunno, sheila. The kid seems pretty creative to me."

_The scene changed, showing Jack and Emma preparing for bed. As their mother tucked them in, Emma carefully put her tooth under her pillow, then asked their mother for a story. She smiled, then said, "I'll tell you the story of the Guardians."_

"_Now once upon a time, there was an evil man named Pitch Black. You may know him as the Boogeyman." Their mother paused, thinking._

"_He controlled nightmare horses called Fearlings, and used them to terrorize the world. These horses were made of nightmare sand, and could give anybody awful nightmares. And that was exactly what they did, producing fear that made Pitch Black, the Fear King, strong._

"_But one day, the Man in the Moon chose a special person called the Sandman to give children good dreams. He was the Guardian of Dreams. The Sandman used his dreamsand to fight off the Fearlings, but it wasn't enough. There were still many Fearlings in the world._

"_So MiM chose another Guardian, named Toothiana, who collected the teeth of children and gave them the good memories contained within the teeth in return. She was the Guardian of Memories. She and her tooth fairy armies fought the nightmares, miniature versions of herself nearly stamping out all of the Fearlings. But the Boogeyman, enraged, created more of the nightmare spirits to fight against the Guardians. "_

"_Is Toothiana the Tooth Fairy?" Emma asked with wide eyes. "And she sends tiny versions of herself out to collect teeth?"_

"_Yes," her mother said. She went on to describe the other two Guardians of Hope and Wonder, explaining how they defeated the evil Boogeyman. As she concluded the story, she noticed her children were asleep. Smiling, she whispered "goodnight" and shut the door softly._

_As soon as Jack heard the door click shut, his eyelids sprang open and he scrambled out of bed. Emma sat up too, and they giggled and whispered, shushing each other and tying a piece of string around Jack's finger and the tooth. Finally they both hopped back into bed, both of them trying to stay awake, but both ultimately falling asleep. After a little while, a mini tooth is seen flitting inside and grabbing the tooth, yanking on the string in the process. As Jack jerked awake he looked wildly about, eyes finally landing on the mini tooth fairy. Gently grabbing the fairy out of the air, he shook Emma awake, whispering, "Emma! I caught her!"_

Tooth's gasped. "He actually caught one?!" She scrunched her face up. "I hope he doesn't hurt her."

_Emma woke up, jumping with suppressed excitement. "Can I see her?"_

"_Hold on." Still holding onto the fairy, he carefully closed the window. Then he placed the fairy on the desk. Holding himself so his face was level to hers, he asked, "Is it okay if we ask a few questions?"_

_The mini tooth looked at the window. At the tooth in her hand. Then at Emma and Jack. Sighing, she nodded her head._

"_Great! Okay, first question: Are you a mini version of the real Tooth Fairy?" At the fairy's nod, he carefully printed the answer on a sheet of paper. "Does that mean I can call you Baby Tooth?" The newly dubbed "Baby Tooth" smiled and nodded._

"_My turn! My turn! Is the story about the Guardians true?" Baby Tooth nodded. Jack grinned and wrote down the answer in charcoal._

_They continued to ask questions, and Baby Tooth answered to the best of her ability, seeing as she could not speak. Jack also drew Baby Tooth in a variety of poses- sitting down, flying, tooth in hand, standing, etc. _

"I had no idea Jack was an artist," Bunny murmured, studying the detailed sketches. "They're good, especially since he was using charcoal."

"Very much we do not know about Jack," North agreed. "We did not know him very long."

_Finally, they were done asking questions. As Baby Tooth flew towards the now-open window, Jack gave her a grin. Baby Tooth nearly fell out of the air, squealing, and flitted back to Jack for a closer look. Once she was done examining his white teeth, she flew out the window, pausing to wave at Jack and Emma. The siblings looked at each other, then, as one, dived back into bed and immediately fell asleep, tired out from the night's events._

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for sticking with me this long. I appreciate all reviews, follows, and favorites!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Um… Hi. Sorry for the wait, but I have absolutely no ideas for memories. So… here ya go. The best of what my uncreative brain came up with.**

_The scene in front of the Guardians lurched, and soon everything cleared and the memories showed Jack and Emma walking in the forest. Jack was giving Emma a piggyback ride, galloping around trees and bushes as Emma giggled and called for him to go faster. He complied, sprinting flat out towards their house. She whooped, laughing, as the tree rushed past her._

_Soon they got to the house, and entered the kitchen. Their mom looked up from her spot scrubbing the table, smiling. "Oh, there you are. Go and wash up, dinner's ready."_

_Jack and Emma scrambled to obey, racing each other to the well outside to scrub their hands and faces. Jack let Emma win, laughing as she punched the air in victory. Then they hurried inside, plopping down at their spots around the table. As their mom set the food on the table, the door burst open yet again, revealing a tall figure at the threshold. Immediately, Emma jumped up from her seat, bouncing over to the man as he hung his cloak on a peg. _

"_Dad! Dad! You're back! Did you do anything cool? What about-"Emma began. Her father chuckled, ruffling her hair affectionately, as he began to take off his boots. "Whoa, there, little lady, I've only been gone a day. But, I did do something cool, and I'll only tell you once you finish eating!" Immediately, Emma flew back into her chair and starting shoveling food into her mouth. Jack leaned back in his seat, regarding his sister's lack of manners with amusement. Once his dad added a stern, "That goes with you too, son!", he starting eating as fast, if not faster, than Emma, barely pausing to breathe. Jack's mother regarded the scene with exasperation. "Really, John, you shouldn't encourage this rough behavior! We are people, not savages!" She approached Jack, smacking him on the back of his head with her wooden spoon. "Chew with your mouth closed, young man, or I'll-" _

_John interrupted her, his eyes gleaming with laughter, and said, "But Erica…" Jack and Emma chimed in, "It's fun!" Erica groaned in exasperation as Jack stood up. "And Mom, you see, there are many health hazards in chewing with your mouth closed. For example, chewing with your mouth closed can cause you to choke on your food as it slides down your throat. This would not happen if your mouth was open, as the food would just fall out of your mouth. Gross, but a much better alternative than suffocation, lung damage, or coughing." Jack put a hand over his heart, and assumed a fake injured expression. "You wouldn't want us to get _sick_, would you, _Mother_?"_

"Wow, those are a lot of big words," muttered Bunny sarcastically. Tooth gave him a look. Sandy was silently laughing to himself at Jack's family's antics. He could see where Jack got his humor from!

_Jack's mom looked like she wanted to bang her head against a wall repeatedly, until an idea occurred to her. "No manners, no dessert," she said sternly. "And it's your favorite- apple pie." At these ominous words, the trio exchanged panicked looks. She had discovered their weakness!_

"Oh, pie's bad for your teeth," Tooth said disapprovingly. "It causes cavities and rot and-"

"Oh, give it up, sheila, it's impossible to stop them." Bunny intervened. "Besides, they must take excellent care of their teeth; every time Jack opens his mouth I'm half-blinded."

"Yes, aren't his teeth gorgeous?!" she gushed. "He must take really good care of them! They're the whitest I've ever seen, and that's saying something! I wonder what brand of toothpaste he uses? Or what brand of toothbrush? Maybe he-"

North interrupted her. "Yes, yes, teeth are very white, but," he held up a finger, "we are watching memories and must be very diligent in observing. Jack show us his memories, and we are honored that he trusts us this much. So, we must not interrupt memories or we are breaking his trust."

_In unison, Jack, Emma, and John sighed. Taking a mouthful of beans, Jack snapped his mouth closed, chewing theatrically as his dad snorted at his silly expression. Emma smiled._

_Suddenly, Jack pretended to cough, hacking and gasping dramatically. In his mother's astonished gaze, he fell out of his chair with a loud thud, and then proceeded to flop like a fish on land. As he continued his dramatic choking, his father rounded the table, lips twitching, and thumped him on the back. Once he had recovered, Jack pointed an accusing finger at his mom. "You see?! I choked because of your 'manners' and nearly died! Do you want me to suffocate?! Who would make funny jokes at the dinner table then, hmm? And what about Emma? She would be heart-broken!" He addressed his sister. "You would be heart-broken, right, Emma?" She nodded vigorously. "There. You see? The whole village would be missing its most valuable member!"_

At this Bunny snorted. "Yeah, right. I bet they would be overjoyed that they didn't have to endure all of his pranks any longer." North chuckled, tears of laughter streaming down his face. "But is very funny! Jack is clever rule breaker!"

_Erica gritted her teeth, then gave in. "Fine. I'll even give you dessert," she said, thoroughly fed up. "But don't blame me if nobody talks to you at Tommy's birthday party next week because of your horrible manners."_

_Jack waved his hand airily. "Oh, we'll use manners then," he said breezily. "Manners are only for emergencies."_

_The family quickly finished dinner. Once they were done, the kids grabbed their protesting dad and plopped him on his chair, then waited for him to start his story. He sighed indulgently. "Fine. So I was herding sheep off to that new pasture near the woods, when suddenly three huge, nasty, wolves appeared from beyond the trees. They growled menacingly, sending the sheep into a panic. I leapt forward, brandishing my staff at the beasts, as two of them went for the sheep. I dealt a few nasty blows to their muzzles, causing them to yelp and retreat. The third one had circled around the flock, however, while I was dealing with the other two. So, I hooked him around the middle with my staff, and swung around, slamming him into a tree and knocking him unconscious. So then..." He continued on with the tale, grinning at his children's enraptured faces._

North nodded approvingly. "Good storyteller," he commented. "Also good with kids."

"Yes," Tooth murmured. "He's really nice when dealing with them."

_The happy family scene froze, then dissolved around the edges, bit by bit, until the only thing left was Jack and Emma's gleeful faces._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS THE REASON THIS FANFIC IS RATED T! NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! If you want to skip the detailed descriptions of blood and such, I added warnings in the middle of the chapter. (Yeah, I know you guys hate that, but still.)**

_Darkness stole their vision. The Guardians looked around frantically until their eyes landed on Jack, who was wandering in the middle of that blackness, stumbling around and calling Emma's name. Suddenly, relief showed in his eyes as Emma appeared, running towards him. As Jack started to walk towards her, a pit appeared out of nowhere and swallowed her whole, dragging her into the blackness where monsters lurked and he couldn't protect her-_

_-And Jack woke up, gasping and panting, sitting straight up in his bed and looking around frantically until his eyes landed on his sister, sleeping in her own bed right next to his. But Emma's sleep was anything but peaceful. As Jack slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room, he noticed a gigantic, monstrous horse made of shadowy sand standing over Emma, drinking in her fear as she tossed and turned, trapped in the grasp of her nightmares as tendrils of darkness twined around her sleeping form._

_A memory flashed in Jack's mind. _"…..and he commanded nightmare horses called Fearlings, and they terrorized the world, snatching children from their beds and taking them away."

_Overcome by rage, he lunged at the monster, tackling it off the bed and slamming it into the floor. Taken by surprise, the nightmare lay still for a moment, then started kicking and rearing as Jack continued to attack it. As he clung to its sandy mane, hitting the horse wildly around the head, Jack accidently inhaled some of the sand. _

"No." Tooth's horrified whisper caught all of their attention. "He'll have visions, Jack's going to either go insane or die-"

Sandy had covered his eyes in distress, and peeked out to watch the events through his fingers.

"We know, Sheila." Bunny placed a hand on her shoulder. "I hope he gets out of this one."

_All of a sudden, he was back in his dream standing paralyzed as Emma's pale, terrified face disappeared from view into a place he couldn't follow-_

_Jack shook it off, clinging even more tightly as he tried to throttle this thing that was trying to hurt his sister-_

_-but Emma was gone, still and white, cold and unmoving in his arms as he cried out and she didn't answer-_

_He took a shuddering breath, reminding himself that it wasn't real; it was only a vision-_

_-and a pack of vicious black wolves surrounded him and Emma, wild yellow eyes trained on their prey. The biggest one lunged, but instead of pouncing at him it got Emma-_

No_. Jack thought, panting from exhaustion. _No. The Guardians will come, like the story said. The Guardians will come, and no one is going to take Emma away-

_-but someone already had, as a tall, shadowy figure dragged Emma by the hair, kicking and screaming and calling Jack's name, but he couldn't answer because the shadows were holding him, trapping him as dark liquid covered his eyes and nose and mouth-_

Tooth now had tears in her eyes, as did the rest of the Guardians. They all marveled at the faith a young boy had in the protectors of childhood, and at the amount of love he held for his sister.

_Shadowy bonds tried to catch him, but Jack fought them off, even as their paralyzing magic took effect. A nasty voice spoke in his head:_ The shadows are stronger, we're _always_ stronger, and there's nothing stopping us from taking both of you away into the deep darkness where no one will find your bones. The Guardians aren't coming; they're never coming, because _there's no such thing as the Guardians_-

That's not true_. Jack fought, even as black sand seeped into his mouth and his very blood turned into twisting black nightmares. _You're just a bad dream.

**(NOW HERE IS THE BLOODY PART)**

_-but now another vision overcame him, and he was in a dark dungeon as Pitch pinned Emma against a wall and smiled nastily, raising one shriveled, claw-like hand and driving it deep into her chest as she screamed in agony, thrashing as Pitch drew out his hand, holding one still-beating, blood-covered heart. The scream stopped short. Jack screamed too, fighting the paralyzing darkness to get to his sister, even as Pitch released her and she dropped to the ground, limp and motionless as a rag doll. There is too much red._

_Then the Boogieman turned to Jack, raised the heart to his lips, and ate it. He smiled, licking his lips, and Jack saw that his teeth were stained with blood._

**(END OF BLOODY PART)**

Tooth shrieks, enraged, and flies towards Pitch, sword gleaming, and attacks him. Every blow just passed through him, as if he was a ghost. She crumples to the floor, sobbing and screaming, as she tries to banish the awful image from her mind. North went to comfort her.

"It is only a bad dream, Toothie," he tried, realizing too late how it must sound to her.

"Only a bad dream?! He could go insane!" The Tooth Fairy no longer looked sweet. Instead, she had her fists clenched and was breathing heavily. Her face was twisted. "I will kill him!"

Bunny's eyes were wide, ears flat against his head as he adopted an animalistic pose. The blood had triggered an ancient instinct in him that urged him to flee this place, even though there was nowhere to flee to. Sandy had covered his face fully and had curled up into a ball. North looked like he was a hundred years older.

"_NO!" Jack breaks free of the nightmare. Rage and desperation pounded through his body. He noticed dimly that there were more of the Fearlings now, and he scrambled back onto Emma's bed. Jack saw that she was awake, staring terrified at the nightmares coming to take her away._

_Suddenly, there was a bright light, and the nightmares shied away. As the Sandman burst into the room, Jack couldn't help but smile giddily. _I knew he would come.

**A/N: CLIFFIE! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Apologies for the late chapter, but school has already started here and I have little to no time to write. I hate the homework.**

**In other words, a big thank you to all who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited! I love you all so much! *hugs* **

**Another BIG thank-you to Britt30, who gave me this idea in the first place! You get a cookie! (::)**

**Also, I am sorry to say that updates during the school year will be infrequent. It might even be a semi-hiatus until winter break comes. I will write as much as I can, though.**

**Ah, the good old days when I updated every three days…**

**Bye! ~Faithe**


	7. Chapter 7

_The Sandman burst into the room, using sand whips to drive the nightmares and Fearlings away. Every time the golden sand touched them, the shadows shrieked and burst into golden dust. Visions gripped Jack's mind, but their hold was weak. The pit filled with water, until Emma was splashing gleefully in the lake. He turned the wolves into puppies, willed his sister back to life. Pitch disappeared in a shower of gold, screaming with rage, and Jack grinned. He wasn't afraid any longer._

North let out a huge whoop and threw Sandy into the air, as Sandy cheered and waved a sand-flag around. Tooth squeezed the maker of dreams excitedly, and Bunny let out a relieved sigh. Now that the Sandman was here, the Nightmares could be chased away.

_Yelling wildly, he leaped into the fray with renewed vigor. Every monster he touched turned to dreamsand animals. As Jack turned a nightmare into dolphins, Emma slowly inched out of her hiding place among the blankets. When she saw her brother having fun and laughing, Emma began to smile too. Giggling, she hopped over to Jack and started turning the Fearlings into fairies._

_Soon, all of them were gone. As the Sandman turned to the two kids with a kind smile, Jack lifted Emma from the floor. She buried her head in his shoulder._

"_You're the Sandman, right?" At Sandy's cheerful nod, Jack grinned. "So, can I call you Sandy?" Another cheerful nod, combined with a check mark. "Well, Sandy, can you tell us why the nightmares and stuff came here?"_

_Sandy frowned. Forming dreamsand shapes above his head, he told Jack that Pitch had targeted them, but he did not know why. He also did not know why Pitch's hair was currently pink._

_Jack burst out laughing. At Sandy's puzzled stare, he explained, "Last Easter, I nailed the Boogerman with a weird paint grenade egg thingie I may have taken from the Easter Kangaroo. I didn't know the paint was permanent!"_

_The maker of dreams stared. Then he blinked. So suddenly that Jack started, Sandy floated in the air a few feet and raised his hands up in a silent cheer. Flying around in a "victory lap", Sandy then shook hands with a highly amused Jack as flashing lights and golden fireworks appeared over his head. Jack didn't need words to see that the Sandman approved of his impromptu prank on Pitch._

_Soon Sandy calmed down and turned serious. Reaching into his robes, he drew out a pouch of dreamsand. Drawing a Nightmare above his head, he indicated the pouch and made the Nightmare disappear. Jack tilted his head, puzzled. "The sand makes the Nightmare go away?" At Sandy's nod, he broke into a wide grin. "Hey, thanks!"_

_Sandy made a dismissive gesture. Waving, he floated out the window, his work here done. Almost immediately, Emma's and Jack's eyelids started drooping, and they stumbled to their beds. Even so, Jack still slept curled up around his little sister while sharing a bed, protecting her from the nightmares he no longer remembered._

**A/N: Yeah, short chapter. Sorry 'bout that. But there wasn't really much to write about, after all the other stuff. This isn't even 1,000 words. I feel so ashamed. To make up for it, though, I will give you a teeny oneshot about Pitch and his pink hair.**

Pitch scowled at the broken mirror. The blasted pink paint the Overland boy had thrown at him had still not worn off, even after 300 years. He could not overthrow the Guardians when his hair was _pink_. How would he scare anyone like that?

A nearby Nightmare snorted with laughter. Scowling, Pitch glared at it so hard it turned back into dust. He sneered in disdain.

A smaller, more obedient Nightmare crept forward with something in its mouth. Smiling in satisfaction, Pitch took it and held it up, reading the label. "Black Hair Dye," he read. "Wears off after 2-3 months."

The Nightmare King sighed. Getting to work, he started to dye his hair black. It would not do, after all, to go through all this work of collecting fear only for the Guardians to laugh at him.

**TADA! And now, presenting….. THANK YOUS! Given to all who reviewed, favorited, or followed! Hey guys… The 110****th**** reviewer gets a mini-oneshot of their choice…. That is rated T or lower, of course. And anyone who asks for a pairing will be severely disappointed, because I CANNOT WRITE ROMANCE. I just can't do it. Every time I try it just turns out like crap.**

**Also, Mysteryfan17, I used Nightmares because a) I know next to nothing about Fearlings besides the name and b) I figured that Pitch would have to experiment with it first, since he didn't use Fearlings at all in the movie. So yeah. :/**

**BYE! ~Faithe**


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